5 Horror Series That Peaked With the First Game

The horror genre has become one of the most popular genres for video game developers. There’s something special about that game that truly terrifies players, and the rise of streaming has made horror games even more possible. After all, the only thing more thrilling than getting scared yourself is seeing someone else shriek in terror. Horror hasn’t been as popular for hit series as fantasy or sci-fi, but fans have gotten a few great series over the years. Unfortunately, sometimes fans would’ve preferred those developers stick to one game, as those follow-ups have failed to live up to the hype.

Here are five horror series that peaked with the first game.

5) Dead Rising

The first Dead Rising puts players into a massive shopping mall just as a zombie outbreak takes over. Playing as photojournalist, Frank West, you need to survive for 72 hours and complete enough quests to get out. It’s a wonderful mix of open-world zombie destruction and classic third-person action. Fighting off zombies with countless makeshift weapons was a blast, and it’s not a huge surprise that Capcom decided to turn it into a series.

Unfortunately, future games never quite topped the original. Dead Rising 2 gets close thanks to its improved weapon crafting, but the casino just isn’t as memorable as the mall. DR3 and 4 have their moments, but feel too much like retreads to excite longtime fans. It’s still Capcom’s sixth most successful IP, so it might have a future. However, Dead Rising 5 was cancelled in 2018 when Capcom Vancouver closed, so no one knows at this point.

4) Outlast

The original Outlast almost felt tailor-made to become huge on YouTube. The atmospheric horror game has players investigating a psychiatric hospital. You’ll use your handheld camera to light up an area, and you cannot fight back against any of the many horrors you’ll witness.

By taking almost every ounce of player agency out of the gameplay, Outlast makes you feel completely powerless. It’s a fully engrossing journey through a horrifying world. Developer Red Barrels delivered a middling sequel and announced it was working on a third mainline game. In the meantime, the studio put out a prequel called The Outlast Trials, which lets players dive into the world together to mediocre results. The live service project is still active, so it’ll probably be a few years before we get the next single-player Outlast.

3) Amnesia

Amnesia: The Dark Descent was a revelation when it launched in 2010. It was one of the forerunners in taking away your ability to fight back against the horrors. Instead, you’ll need to focus on solving puzzles and staying stealthy if you want to get past all the monsters waiting for you.

It absolutely blew up on YouTube, becoming one of the major contributors to the popularity of the Let’s Play. In many ways, Outlast would not exist without the first Amnesia. Sadly, things got tricky after the first game. A Machine for Pigs was developed by a different studio, The Chinese Room, which could not live up to the stone-cold classic made by Frictional Games. Frictional came back after a decade to make Rebirth, and then The Bunker, but neither came close to capturing lightning in the bottle like The Dark Descent.

2) Alone in the Dark

Infogrames released the original Alone in the Dark in 199s. It was one of the first games to ever use polygonal characters, earning it great scores on the PC, and planting its flag as one of the more important games in gaming history. Just don’t play the ports. Still, as the first 3D survival horror game, it set the stage for great series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

It’s a shame that everything else that’s come out in the decades since has been, at best, mediocre. Most of it isn’t worth playing, even for massive fans of the original. The New Nightmare, which is the fourth game in the series, is a fine reboot, but nothing to brag about. Alone in the Dark is still getting new entries as of 2024, which was a mediocre horror game starring David Harbour and Jodie Comer. Unfortunately, the developers seemingly spent most of the budget on bringing in those actors and not on making the game good.

1) F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R. isn’t just a horror masterpiece; it’s also one of the best shooters of its era. That might be surprising if you’ve never played it, but the AI Monolith Productions developed for the enemy characters is some of the best in the business. They react appropriately to your actions, giving you an actual challenge. It’s not just increased health pools or more damaging bullets. These opponents feel like they’re being controlled by humans.

Monolith wanted to turn F.E.A.R. into a massive franchise, but publisher Vivendi seemingly had other plans. The original got two DLCs, not developed by the original team, and Monolith announced it was working on a sequel under a different name. Eventually, they got the F.E.A.R. name back from Vivendi and put out Project Origin, which was fine, but not the game-changer fans were hoping for. A third game was in the works, but it never happened. It’s a tragic end for a series that had so much potential.

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